Lost Hope
by p3.25
Summary: Eight months ago Annabeth's life changed forever and not for good. Plagued by nightmares and distraught from the pain of losing a loved one, she is struggling in life. She needs all the help she can get to put her life back on track and she finds it from the most unexpected person. AU
1. Nightmares

**HI people! So this is my first FanFiction and it might not be very good but bear with me it will get better. This chapter's pretty short but I'll try to write longer ones if you like this one. So let me know whether you like it or not. Enjoy the read!**

Annabeth

_She couldn't remember the last time she had run so fast. She felt like she had been running her whole life. The muscles in her leg were screaming to be rested even for a little while but she could not afford to stop. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest and her sides were aching like crazy. But she still ran. The alternative would get her killed. Her palms were sweaty as she held on to the one person who provided her strength in this situation. No matter what happened she would never let go of his hand. _

_Her mind was growing fuzzy because of exertion but it registered the fact that they were in a forest marked by very tall trees that seemed to touch the night sky. Up ahead she could make out the outline of a pile of boulders which looked like a giant fist. The couple quickened their pace and hid behind the boulders. They both sank to their knees and struggled to catch their breaths. She leaned against the boulder and put her head in her hands. The boy beside her leaned towards her and removed her hands from her head and touched his forehead to hers. We'll be okay, he whispered to her, his voice shaking. Just for a second she believed him. His face was shrouded in the shadow of the boulder but she imagined his contagious smile and his bright blue eyes filled with fear and determination. A sense of relief flooded her body and she truly believed that they would get out of this mess and everything will turn out to be okay._

_Just then a piercing sound tore through the silence of the night and the next thing she knew she was lying on the ground with a blinding pain in her leg. She let out an agonizing scream and rolled to her side only to come face to face with the unblinking stricken face of the only person she truly ever loved._

Annabeth woke up and sat up in her bed gasping for air like a fish out of water. She ran her hand across her forever which was sweaty. Her heart was thumping just like in the dream. She closed her eyes and tried to calm her nerves. Her throat was parched and she knew she must have been screaming her head off. She gritted her teeth in frustration and tried to comfort herself by thinking that it was just a dream and she was safe now.

This was nothing out of the ordinary. Annabeth was used to the nightmares that came every single night to haunt her. She had not slept peacefully for almost eight months now. After a while she got off her bed and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. Her hands were shaking as she poured water from a jar. She drank the water in one gulp and just stood there leaning against the fridge. Absentmindedly she ran her hand along the inner side of her arm and felt the scar that ran from her palm to her elbow. Along with the nightmares the scar was a constant reminder of that dreadful night that had changed her life forever. Not that she needed a reminder anyway. There was no way she could ever forget that night. It was etched in her memory and nothing will ever be able to make her forget.

She placed the glass in the kitchen sink and went back to her room hoping more than anything that the rest of her night would be uneventful.

…..

Annabeth woke up in the morning with a killing headache. She quickly got dressed for school and brushed her blonde hair which was in knots. She stood in front of the mirror, looked at herself and sighed. Annabeth never put too much effort in looking pretty but she wanted to look at least presentable. She had dark circles under her eyes due to lack of sleep and she looked paler than usual. Her blood red T-shirt and blue jeans were not exactly a style statement but she didn't really care as long as she was comfortable in them. After struggling for another ten minutes she managed to make her hair looked somewhat decent and pulled it back in a loose ponytail. She slung her backpack over her shoulder and made her way down.

Her older brother Malcolm was sitting on the kitchen table already half way through his breakfast. She sat down beside him and half heartedly began eating her share of pancakes.

Malcolm glanced at Annabeth and gave her a sympathetic look. Being a light sleeper Malcom could hear her scream and trash about in her sleep every night. Annabeth always felt guilty of disturbing his sleep.

"Dad already left?," She asked her brother.

"Yeah, he had an early meeting with a client. Are you done? We should get going if we don't want to be late."

"Um...yeah I'm done, let's go." She pushed her plate away grateful for getting a reason to skip breakfast.

They both made their way out of their house and into their car with Malcolm on the driving seat.

After a while Malcolm tore his eyes from the road and said ",Why don't you see your therapist again? She might be able to help you with the nightmares."

Annabeth looked at her brother and met his eyes which were almost identical to hers. They actually looked a lot alike with the same blonde hair and stormy grey eyes.

"Yeah, like it helped the last time," She answered sarcastically.

"Well you never even gave it a chance last time. Quit being so stubborn and maybe it will help." He shot back at her.

"Whatever Malcolm, I'll think about it, okay? Now can you please concentrate on getting us to the school and not the hospital?"

Malcolm sighed but didn't comment further knowing full well that his sister would not consider going back to therapy for a second.

It was a fifteen minute drive from their house to school and soon Annabeth could see the familiar brownstone building which was her school.

Entering the premises of Goode High School was probably Annabeth's most hated tasks. As she entered the school hallway and made her way to her locker she could see students giving her sideway glance. Most were discreet about it but some just outright stared at her like she was some kind of a freak. Some of them she used to friends with, some respected her and some just ignored her very existence. But now she was just a girl who had shit happen to her eight months ago. You'd think eight months would be enough for people to move on to gossip about another scandal but she was wrong.

Closing her locker, Annabeth sighed and braced herself for another uneventful day at her beloved school.


	2. Survivng

**I'm back and as promised here's a longer chapter.**

**Before you start reading I want to make it clear that this is a dark story. I'm just not good at writing fluffy stories. Also Annabeth is going to be very OOC because I'm just tired of smart, careful and perfect Annabeth. I wanted to experiment with her character.**

**I hope you like the chapter and if you do, don't forget to leave a review.**

**Enjoy the read!**

Annabeth

As soon as Mrs. Jones, her math teacher started talking about statistics, Annabeth's mind drifted to other insignificant things. Not for the first time in months, she mentally chided herself for getting distracted so easily. Her mind was scattered and she was having a hard time concentrating on the equations scribbled on the board in front of her. She did not used to be like this. Her mind was all over the place and no matter how much she tried should not shake the offending thoughts from her mind. When did she become like this? She used to Annabeth Chase the star student, every teacher's favorite, the girl with a bright future ahead of her. She was no longer a straight A student, having receiving a B+ in one of her Math tests months ago. She couldn't even remember the last time she had got a grade less than A. But now she could hardly keep her grades above B. Annabeth knew her teachers were disappointed in her but they didn't say anything.

For that Annabeth was grateful. She knew practically everyone in her school pitied her. She could tell by the way they all looked at her with eyes full of sympathy. That's all they ever do- look. No one has actually approached her and asked her about her well being. But she was more than okay with that. She didn't need their fake compassion. Being alone is somewhat peaceful and more fulfilling than being with people she felt emotionally detached from.

The sound of pencil dropping beside her jarred her from her day dream. She looked sideways and saw a raven haired guy bend over and pick up the pencil he had dropped. When he straightened up, she could see his face. His hair messy black hair fell across his forehead falling slightly on his eyes. Oh his eyes. They were the most gorgeous shade of green she'd ever seen. She had to resist a sudden urge to move the strands obscuring his eyes so she can marvel them a little more. A distant memory tugged at her mind and she got the feeling that she'd seen him before. Not because he was a classmate but in another context. But with her scattered brain, Annabeth could not stay focused at the task for very long and instead trained her eyes ahead hoping that she had not been staring at him for very long.

Soon the bell rang indicating the end of the first period. Annabeth waited for her classmates to fill out of the class before making her way to her next class. No use drawing more attention to herself and necessary.

The rest of the day passed just the same as all the other days. Annabeth had got used to the monotony that marked her days. Sometimes she craved to break this never ending monotony and go back to when school used to eventful and full of life for her. But she held herself back. Nothing was the same as before and no matter how much she wanted she could never go back to those days again.

At lunch she sat by herself at the farthest table in the cafeteria and engrossed herself in the book. After a while she discreetly raised her head and observed the people around her. This was the only time in day when she could really watch the people around her.

The noisiest table was occupied by the jocks and the quietest by the nerds. But Annabeth's eyes quickly landed on a table at the opposite side of the room which seated five people. A rush of emotions surged through her seeing them laughing and bickering with each other. A red haired girl was having a heated discussion with a guy with curly black guy and Annabeth couldn't help the smile that played on her lips seeing those two fight. A blonde haired guy had his arm around a pretty girl with choppy brown hair and they were watching their two friends quarreling with each other. Annabeth's smile grew bigger and she sighed with relief as she did everytime she sees them together. Her eyes then fell on a pale skinned girl with spiky black hair and heavy makeup. She was staring right at Annabeth. Her electric blue eyes bore into Annabeth's grey ones and she felt a stab of longing. She wanted nothing more than to join her friends and listen to Rachel and Leo talking animatedly about subjects ranging from girls to art, roll her eyes pointedly in response to Jason and Piper's PDA and more than anything she wanted to rush into Thalia's arms and pour her heart out. She needed her best friend but she couldn't have her. Not yet. After what she did she could hardly face herself, how was she supposed to face the people who mattered the most to her. She couldn't stand being the reason for another rift between her friends. She had to keep her distance for now.

Thalia gave her a small smile and Annabeth could see the same longing mirrored in her eyes. She returned the smile and quickly broke the eye contact and went back to reading her book. The words started blurring as she her eyes filled with tears. She quickly blinked them back and took a deep breath to compose herself. If she could survive six months without talking to her friends, one more day shouldn't be such a stretch.

After school Annabeth walked back to her brother's car and waited for Malcolm. She leaned against the hood of the car and kept her head down, which she found just two minutes later was not a good decision when an object came hurling towards her and hit her on her head. She winced slightly and looked around to see a basketball bouncing lightly on the ground beside her. She picked it up just as a guy came jogging towards her. His sea green eyes were apologetic and Annabeth again found herself staring at them.

"Hey, I'm so sorry; my cousin has a terrible aim. He was actually trying to hit me. It was an honest mistake. You're not hurt, are you?" He held out his hand and Annabeth gave him the ball. She spotted a guy, presumably his cousin, standing awkwardly behind him. He looked younger than her and wore black jeans and black leather jacket despite the sultry weather.

"No, I'm fine". Annabeth gave a small smile to both of them to ease their discomfort. She again tried not to stare at the green eyed boy with the messy black hair. There was no denying the fact that he was cute. His smile was warm and humble and the way he nervously ran his hand through his hair while talking to her made her heart beat a little more rapidly. He had a well build body which suggested that he worked out.

"Good. So, Hi, I'm Percy Jackson and this is my cousin Nico di Angelo". He gestured to the boy standing behind him who gave her a small smile.

"Hi, I'm Annabeth Chase"

Percy gave her a weird look as if waiting for her to say something. She just looked at him with a blank expression, not sure what to do next.

"You don't remember me, do you?" He asked finally, his eyes alight with amusement.

Annabeth racked my brain one more time in the hope that something would pop up. But nothing came to mind. Normally being so forgetful and absent minded would have infuriated her but this had been happening a lot lately. It was as if her mind was ignoring every fact and go-betweens in her life rendering them as worthless, not worthy enough to be stored as a piece of important information.

"I'm sorry, I don't. I have a terrible memory. You do seem familiar though. Where have we met?"

Percy's smile grew wider and he took a step towards her. "I'll let you figure that out. Find me when you remember." With that comment he turned around and walked up to a blue prius and got in along with his cousin, Nico.

Annabeth just stood there, staring at the place where he was standing thirty seconds ago. She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice Malcolm standing in front of her till he waved his hand in front of her face to get her attention. "You okay?"

Uh, yeah I'm fine, let's go." She shook her head slightly and got in the car.

"So how was your day?"

"Fine," She answered nonchalantly.

"I see you are making new friends". Malcolm glanced at her with a suggestive glint in his eyes.

"No, I'm not. His cousin hit me with his ball accidently and he was just apologizing".

"Well, I think it'd good for you to interact with other people and make some new friends since you don't seem to be showing any inclination to reconcile with your old ones," He said with a pointed look.

"Let it go Malcolm".

"You know you should be glad. It's not everyday a brother encourages her little sister to be friends with a boy who is being touted by practically every girl in the school as the "hot new thing".

Annabeth couldn't help the smile that played on her lips hearing her brother's remark. She shifted in her seat to look at him trying to hold back his own smile.

"Little? Seriously? I'm seventeen Malcolm". She rolled my eyes for a little dramatic effect.

Yeah, I know you don't have to remind me that but for me you'll always be my little sister". He chuckled and looked at her.

"Ugh, enough sappy dialogues for today. Save something for tomorrow". He laughed at that comment and I couldn't help but join him.

Unlike almost everyone else, Malcolm never gave up on trying to make her laugh at every possible occasion. He was just as stubborn as her and at times like this she was glad that he tried so hard. She could see the relief at seeing her laugh mingled with concern clearly in his eyes. She hated seeing him so worried, especially about her.

"Seriously though, he seems like a decent guy. He tried out for the swim team today and he was pretty good. He moved here from New York about two months ago- "

"Malcolm, I appreciate all the information but I'm just going to stick to myself", She said with a finality in her tone hoping that her brother wouldn't push further.

Luckily, all he did was sigh in defeat and diverted his attention on the road ahead.

But Annabeth's mind couldn't help but wander to the cocky yet cute green eyed boy. She could not seem to figure him out. Most people would be offended if someone they knew didn't recognize them. But she could tell that he expected her to not recognize him. She could not, for the life of her, figure out, where they had met. It was definitely not in school, that she was sure of. She tried to go over the events of the last two months but nothing seemed to stand out. Nothing remotely interesting had happened since the last incident eight months ago and Annabeth was more than happy about that.

But she could not deny the fact that he intrigued her. Annabeth could not remember the last time something had caught her attention like this. Her curiosity which had been hibernating for so long seemed to wake from its deep slumber and make her long to know more about this boy.

She could not help but feel that their paths are going to cross again.

…..

Home, Annabeth felt was no better than school, atleast for her. In both places she pretended she did not exist. She turned down every opportunity to talk to her family even Malcolm so the overwhelming silence that was her life now continued its course in her home too. She ate and slept when she was supposed to just to give her parents some satisfaction that their daughter is not trying to kill herself. But if they expected anything more from her, they were sorely mistaken. Sounds lovely, doesn't it?

Her mother was sitting on the living room couch with her phone pressed against her ear in the middle of a heated discussion with one of her colleagues. She didn't even acknowledge her presence as Annabeth walked past her and took the stairs to her bedroom. She closed the door behind her and lay down on her bed. It was amazing how a whole day of doing absolutely nothing but sit through boring classes could drain someone's energy so much. God, she was pathetic and whiny and a hypocrite. She knew she was being self destructive, wallowing up in her pain and shutting everyone out. She was drowning in her misery and rejecting every help to keep her afloat. She just could not muster enough will power to get up her butt and sort her life out before it disintegrate in front of her permanently with no hopes to put the pieces back together. She hated feeling so lifeless all the timing. It frustrated her to the point that she nearly split her hair in agitation. She was not living, she was surviving and for now, it was all she could do.

"Annabeth, dinner's ready". Her brother's voice called her from downstairs. She sat up and looked at her bedside clock. She realized she had dozed of thinking about her depressing life. What a productive way to spend your time.

She grudgingly got up and made her way downstairs to the kitchen table where her family was already seated. Her father was talking to Malcolm no doubt discussing about his future. She didn't see the point in doing that. Her brother was for the lack of a better word perfect. He was the captain of swim team, president of the Drama club with an almost perfect academic record which was sure to get him in any college of his choice.

Annabeth took her seat beside him and looked up to see her mother, Athena giving me a tentative smile from across the table as if afraid I would suddenly flip out and go crazy because of that gesture. she returned the smile to let her know that she was okay. These exchanges of smiles were the only thing that came close to a conversation between us. Annabeth knew her mother was not one of the emotional, nurturing mothers who was a fan of heart to heart conversations. This was the best she could do without stepping out of her comfort zone. She couldn't even remember the last time she had talked to her. Being one of the most famous lawyers in San Francisco meant that she was always busy with her work. There wasn't really anything she could do about it.

After dinner Annabeth made it back to her room and closed the door. She plunked down on her bed and looked sideways outside her bedroom window. She could see the night sky and the moon shining brightly, the light of which illuminated her front lawn making it look spooky.

Night was the both the best and the worst time of the day for Annabeth. It was when the sun had set that memories of the incident come back more vividly. She could almost envision herself being in that forest running for her life. It terrified the hell out of her. It makes her afraid of the dark, afraid that it will continue forever and she will never be able to feel the relief that comes with seeing the morning sun at the horizon. With the memories came the painful reminder of what she lost. She'd lost pretty much everyone along the way but his loss stung the most. It was absolute torture knowing that she would never get to hear his infectious laugh or look into those blue eyes always full of emotions.

But even with horrid memories, it was the only time of the day when her mind became a little less scattered and she was able to concentrate on things a little better. It was a welcome break from the unfocused, confused mess that was her brain during the rest of the day. Annabeth closed her eyes and her mind instantly drifted to the green eyed boy. She knew she wouldn't be able to put her mind at rest till she figures out just how they were connected.

She had hardly left her home in past couple months except to go to school. Where the hell could she have met him?

Suddenly the distant memory tugged at her mind again and fuzzy images of one particular night started coming back to her.

Annabeth opened her eyes and sat up in her bed. She remembered how she had met Percy Jackson.


End file.
